Pipeline transport moves important cargoes such as oil and natural gas. Russian pipelines have more than half a century of history. Construction began with the development of the oil fields of Baku and Grozny. Today’s map of Russian gas pipelines totals almost 50 thousand km of trunk pipelines, through which most of the Russian oil is pumped.
History of Russian gas pipelines
Pipeline transport of gas in Russia began to develop actively in 1950, which was associated with the development of new fields and the construction of an oil refinery in Baku. By 2008, the amount of transported oil and oil products reached 488 million tons. Compared to 2000, the indicators increased by 53%.
The gas pipelines of Russia annually (the scheme is updated and reflects all the pipelines) is growing. If in 2000 the length of the gas pipe was 61 thousand km, in 2008 it was already 63 thousand km. By 2012, the main gas pipelines of Russia expanded significantly. The map displayed about 250 thousand km of the pipeline. Of these, 175 thousand km was the length of the gas pipeline, 55 thousand km - the length of the oil pipeline, 20 thousand km - the length of the oil product pipeline.
Gas pipeline transport in Russia
A gas pipeline is an engineering construction of pipeline transport that is used to transport methane and natural gas. The gas supply is carried out using overpressure.
Today it is difficult to believe that the Russian Federation (today the largest exporter of “blue fuel”) initially depended on raw materials purchased abroad. In 1835, the first “blue fuel” production plant was opened in St. Petersburg with a distribution system from the field to the consumer. At this plant, gas was extracted from foreign coal. After 30 years, the same plant was built in Moscow.
Due to the high cost of building gas pipes and imported raw materials, Russia's first gas pipelines were small. Pipelines produced large diameters (1220 and 1420 mm) and with a large length. With the development of natural gas field technologies and its production, the size of the “blue rivers” in Russia began to increase rapidly.
The largest gas pipelines in Russia
Gazprom is the largest gas artery operator in Russia. The main activities of the corporation are:
- geological exploration, mining, transportation, storage, processing;
- production and sale of heat and electricity.
At the moment, there are such existing gas pipelines:
- The Blue Stream.
- "Progress".
- "Union".
- "Nord Stream".
- "Yamal-Europe."
- "Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod."
- "Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok."
Since many investors are interested in the development of the oil production and oil refining sector, engineers are actively developing and building ever new largest gas pipelines in Russia.
Oil pipelines of the Russian Federation
An oil pipeline is an engineering construction of pipeline transport, which is used to transport oil from the place of production to the consumer. There are two types of pipelines: trunk and field.
The largest pipelines:
- “Friendship” is one of the major routes of the Russian Empire. Today's production volume is 66.5 million tons per year. The highway passes from Samara through Bryansk. In the city of Mozyr, "Friendship" is divided into two sections:
- Southern Highway - passes through Ukraine, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic;
- Northern highway - through Germany, Latvia, Poland, Belarus and Lithuania.
- The Baltic Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system that connects the site of oil production with the seaport. The capacity of such a highway is 74 million tons of oil per year.
- The Baltic Pipeline System-2 is a system that connects the Druzhba pipeline with Russian ports in the Baltic. The capacity is 30 million tons per year.
- The eastern oil pipeline connects the production site of East and West Siberia with the markets of the USA and Asia. The capacity of such an oil pipeline reaches 58 million tons per year.
- The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is an important international project with the participation of the largest oil producing companies, created for the construction and operation of 1.5 thousand km long pipes. The working capacity is 28.2 million tons per year.
Gas pipelines from Russia to Europe
Russia can supply gas to Europe in three ways: through the Ukrainian gas transmission system, as well as through the Nord Stream and Yamal-Europe gas pipelines. In the event that Ukraine finally ceases cooperation in the Russian Federation, gas supplies to Europe will be carried out exclusively by Russian gas pipelines.
The methane supply scheme to Europe suggests, for example, the following options:
- Nord Stream is a gas pipeline that connects Russia and Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The pipeline bypasses transit states: Belarus, Poland and the Baltic countries. Nord Stream was commissioned relatively recently - in 2011.
- "Yamal-Europe" - the length of the gas pipeline is more than two thousand kilometers, pipes pass through the territory of Russia, Belarus, Germany and Poland.
- Blue Stream - a gas pipeline connecting the Russian Federation and Turkey along the bottom of the Black Sea. Its length is 1213 km. The design capacity is 16 billion cubic meters per year.
- South Stream - the pipeline is divided into offshore and onshore sections. The marine section runs along the bottom of the Black Sea and connects the Russian Federation, Turkey, Bulgaria. The length of the plot is 930 km. The land section passes through the territory of Serbia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia.
Gazprom said that in 2017 the price of gas for Europe will be increased by 8-14%. Russian analysts say that the volume of deliveries this year will be more than in 2016. The revenue of the gas monopoly of the Russian Federation in 2017 may grow by $ 34.2 billion.
Russian gas pipelines: import schemes
The neighboring countries to which Russia supplies gas include:
- Ukraine (sales volume is 14.5 billion cubic meters).
- Belarus (19.6).
- Kazakhstan (5.1).
- Moldova (2.8).
- Lithuania (2.5).
- Armenia (1.8).
- Latvia (1).
- Estonia (0.4).
- Georgia (0.3).
- South Ossetia (0.02).
Among non-CIS countries, Russian gas is used by:
- Germany (supply volume is 40.3 billion cubic meters).
- Turkey (27.3).
- Italy (21.7).
- Poland (9.1).
- United Kingdom (15.5).
- Czech Republic (0.8) and others.
Gas supply to Ukraine
In December 2013, Gazprom and Naftogaz signed an addendum to the contract. The document indicated a new “discount” price, one third less than prescribed in the contract. The contract entered into force on January 1, 2014, and must be renewed every three months. Due to gas debts, Gazprom canceled the discount in April 2014, and since April 1, the price has risen to $ 500 per thousand cubic meters (discounted price was $ 268.5 per thousand cubic meters).
Gas pipelines planned for construction in Russia
The gas pipeline map of Russia at the development stage includes five sections. The South Stream project between Anapa and Bulgaria has not been implemented; Altai is under construction - this is a gas pipeline between Siberia and Western China. The Caspian gas pipeline, which will supply natural gas from the Caspian Sea, in the future should pass through the territory of the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. For deliveries from Yakutia to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, another route is under construction - Yakutia-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok.